The perception and knowledge of Giardia among people who work in dog shelters

Abstract

In this study the perception and knowledge about Giardia among people who work in shelters is examined. This is done on the basis of a questionnaire, consisting of 17 multiple choice questions. The questionnaire focusses on several topics, such as: Do people see Giardia as a problem? Which measures are taken to prevent an infection and which measures will be taken if there is an infection? Is Giardia seen as a zoonotic disease? Which therapy is applied? Veterinarians have been asked additional questions about treatment, business counseling, advice and guidance. The results of this study indicate that the majority (up to 84%) of the participants who filled in the questionnaire do not see Giardia as a problem at their shelter. Moreover, they seem to have insufficient knowledge about Giardia. It can be concluded that the veterinarians seem to use an appropriate therapy for individual cases. However, there seems to be a lack of a protocol focusing on the shelter as a whole. A search in the available literature did not produce a satisfying protocol. Therefore, future research should focus on developing such a protocol, usable for both veterinarians and shelter personnel. This research is part of a large-scale study, ‘’the Giardia Project’’. In this project, different dog populations in the Netherlands are examined: house dogs, clinical dogs (dogs with gastrointestinal symptoms) and kennel/shelter dogs. Current research in these populations investigates the prevalence of Giardia within these three groups, the different diagnostic methods (CSF, IFA and the SNAP® Giardia Test by IDEXX) and if there is a connection between Giardia and the consistency of faeces. In addition, the prevalence of the humane assemblages of Giardia (assemblage’s A and B) in the three dog populations is also examined to make a statement about the potential zoonotic risk of Giardia. In order to do this, a PCR method will be developed. The research goals of this project are to get a better understanding of the prevalence of Giardia, detected with different tests, in combination with the consistency of faeces, and to get a better understanding of the prevalence of assemblage’s A and B in dogs and the potential zoonotic risk. Eventually, when the knowledge and perception of Giardia among people who work in shelters have been studied, their knowledge can be expanded. For this, the results of ‘’the Giardia Project’’ are of interest, in order to further educate people.